# I did not want to tell him it was fake



## Stogie (Feb 13, 2007)

A guy at my job just came back from his trip to Mexico and he brought back some Cohibas of course..Big surprise right? He proceeded to tell me how he had the inside on these and such. He gave me one and told me they smoke great but that they might need a bit more age. He got off work about an hour before me so I started looking at the cigar. After about two minutes I was staring at the insides of a Cuban Sandwich haha!

I feel bad that he got scammed but I just can not bring myself to tell him. If they smoke great to him then so be it right?

You guys every seen a fake that someone had? Did you tell them it was fake or just let them be?


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

If he is a friend then I would tell him. If not, let it be.


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

This comes up often...
I sometimes receive gifts like that,, I just say thanks
and appreciate the gesture.
My buddy just got back from the islands and he told me a similar story as yours.

He loved it (placebo effect),,,,,I could not tell him the truth.

However if it was a friend that wanted to get into this great hobby on a regular basis,,,,,I would shed some light on the situation.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Touchy situation to say the least. Sort of like telling your friend his wife is cheating on him. Tread lightly is my best advice. It really goes on a case by case basis. Another words if he is someone that you know is open minded open to learning criticism etc. By all means educated the guy don't' facilitate his ignorance. But if he is one of those know it all types that lives in denial. Then maybe its best to leave it alone. After all for some. "Ignorance is truly bliss"


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## Sigarz (Jul 29, 2006)

Maybe if its within your means you could gift him a real version for him to try, maybe he'll make the connection. otherwise I agree if hes a good friend tell otherwise best to let it be.


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

I just try to be gracious when this happens to me. I will usually return the favor with some real sticks and never say a thing. Then I toss those nasty things away.


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## socapots (Feb 22, 2010)

tell him they are fakes..
and show him why.. maybe that way he wont get taken again the next time he goes down,,,
shit i wish i could tell the difference. i got a buddy of mine who goes down on the regular. buys boxes to bring back. they seem ok to me. ive only tried a couple. i personally would love to know the signs of a fake..


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

A few months ago a guy was showing me some of his stash he brought in to the B&M... He shows me a really blatent fake Cohiba. Not only that, but you'd have to smoke the thing like you were playing a frickin clarinet it had so many beetle holes in it!!! :shock:

I told him about the beetle holes anyway...


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## thebayratt (Jun 4, 2009)

A friend just came back from Mexico with a Glass Top box of "Cohibas".
I told him they were fake and told him how to spot they were. So his next trip, he wouldn't get scammed again. He/we smoked them and he actually liked them...... It was one of my worst smokes but...... like what ya smoke and smoke what ya like..... he has no real pallete sense and couldn't tell the diff between a VSG and a V.


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## smelvis (Sep 7, 2009)

I would want to know the truth, better a little egg once that repeated every time I give one out!


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## thegoldenmackid (Mar 16, 2010)

thebayratt said:


> So his next trip, he wouldn't get scammed again. He/we smoked them and he actually liked them...... It was one of my worst smokes but...... like what ya smoke and smoke what ya like.....


Shawn couldn't have summed up my thoughts better.


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

I think the difference for me is:

If the friend is *not *a cigar smoker and gives me a gift, I say thank you.

If he is a friend that smokes, I give him a real one and an education.


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## CraigJS (Dec 23, 2009)

If he goes down there often, tell him. If this is a "once in a lifetime" trip, don't. He had fun there, got what he thinks are "real" CC's, why sink his boat... He didn't know the difference, to him they are CC's. That's why they say 90+ percent of CC's in the USA are fake. Turn him onto a real CC and they will taste so differently that he'll think that yours are fake, because he got his "there". Sometimes you can't win. Give him "our" web site, tell him great people with loads of knowledge about sticks, he'll find out for himself and you won't be the bad guy.. My .02


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

I had this happen to me once before. I met someone at a local tavern while I was in the back open area where you can sit and smoke. He said my cigar smelled great (It was a RP decade) and he and his friend sat down and started talking to me. A little while later, I ran home quick (I live 10 houses away) and returned with 3 Decades. I clipped another for me and gave each of these guys one and they loved them. As we were talking he was telling me about these great cubans that he was smoking the week earlier and after the smoke we parted ways. About a week later, I walked into the tavern for a cold one and this guy and his friend approached me and he pulled out a Cohiba Churchill with no embossing and two rows of unsymmetrical squares and said "I saved the last one for you". I asked how they were packaged and he told me in a beautiful glass top box with its own humidifier in it and "these are the real deal". I told him I'd save it for later because I had already clipped the stick I had on me and we went outside to smoke. Making small talk I asked how things were going and he told me he had just gotten fired the day before and was looking forward to relaxing with a cigar. He asked me what I thought of the Cohiba and I just told him "it looks like a delicious cigar, I can't wait to try it". I couldn't tell him what I knew.


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## Frinkiac7 (Dec 12, 2008)

Meh, best to break it to people, I say. How they react is their own business, if it's put to them appropriately. 
Best method is just to give someone a real CC and let them do the math when comparing it to their glass-tops. No need to be a jerk about it, but also is kind of sad to abide the continuance of fake crap. Every brother that is smoking some Coheebos could be enjoying the real deal and sharing in the brotherhood...best to initiate them somehow.


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## JustOneMoreStick (Sep 21, 2009)

I had a similar situation present itself to me I thanked the person for the gift and the thought then I broke the news and pointed him to some of the spot a fake websites. it seemed to work well.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

scottw said:


> I had this happen to me once before. I met someone at a local tavern while I was in the back open area where you can sit and smoke. He said my cigar smelled great (It was a RP decade) and he and his friend sat down and started talking to me. A little while later, I ran home quick (I live 10 houses away) and returned with 3 Decades. I clipped another for me and gave each of these guys one and they loved them. As we were talking he was telling me about these great cubans that he was smoking the week earlier and after the smoke we parted ways. About a week later, I walked into the tavern for a cold one and this guy and his friend approached me and he pulled out a Cohiba Churchill with no embossing and two rows of unsymmetrical squares and said "I saved the last one for you". I asked how they were packaged and he told me in a beautiful glass top box with its own humidifier in it and "these are the real deal". I told him I'd save it for later because I had already clipped the stick I had on me and we went outside to smoke. Making small talk I asked how things were going and he told me he had just gotten fired the day before and was looking forward to relaxing with a cigar. He asked me what I thought of the Cohiba and I just told him "it looks like a delicious cigar, I can't wait to try it". I couldn't tell him what I knew.


Very classy compassionate move Scott. :bump:


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

I don't inform friends/ colleagues that they have fakes unless asked by them. If they do ask me I'll be honest, explain what the "give-aways" are on each specific cigar, and tell them not to feel bad because it happens all the time and that I too have bought fakes before I knew better. I will also give them some advice on what to do next time they are looking for legit Cuban cigars. Finally, yo help soften the blow, I'll usually give them a legitimate Cuban from my humi.


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## GrtndpwrflOZ (May 17, 2007)

I like the term LYING BY OMMISSION


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## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

Friends don't let friends buy fakes.
Go ahead and break his heart.
It's your duty.


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## 96Brigadier (Oct 20, 2009)

Personally I would want to know if I was handing out fake cigars and would appreciate it if I was told the truth about them.


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## Dave.73 (Mar 25, 2010)

That's a sticky situation. I would definitely want to know especially if I was spending my hard earned money. You know the saying...fool me once....


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## Shaz (Oct 10, 2008)

This question comes up every now and then. It's never happened to me yet. I think each case is different and what you do is based on how you think the gifter will respond. If you feel that there's any chance of hurting his feelings or making him feel stupid, especially in front of others, then you smile and say thank you.


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## GentlemanJester (Feb 28, 2010)

Some people I would tell, others I wouldn't... It just depends on the person. You know him, use your best judgement.

As a cigar smoker I would want to know for sure. Even if I wasn't a cigar smoker I would want to know for sure but that's just me. 

I'm fully expecting that I'll have to deal with this soon as my brother and his wife are going on a cruise to the islands, and he's already mentioned Cubans. I just keep telling him to find a reputable store, but I still think I'll end up with a gift of fakes. Gotta love the gesture though


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## Nickerson (Mar 19, 2009)

Father was gifted the most shabbiest looking cigar I have ever seen. Stretch marks and uneven color. Opened it up and there were twigs and whatnot inside it.

Didn't tell the guy. No need to upset them in my opinion. Kind of like getting an ugly sweater from your Grandma for Christmas, just smile and make her feel good.


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## gibson_es (Jan 23, 2010)

my aunt just got married and her new hubby and her took a cruise, he knows i like cigars, and so he brought me and my dad both a monte (no 2 or no 4) but it was a fake, it tasted like it, and s_vivo confirmed it through pics. me and dad decided not to tell him, we just said thanks. maybe down the road when we have a closer relationship we will tell him it was a fake, but for now i dont want him to think i dont appreciate the gesture, besides, i had it right before my first real cuban, so i feel like it was an initiation or something. lol.


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## Scardinoz (Mar 15, 2010)

Shaz said:


> If you feel that there's any chance of hurting his feelings or making him feel stupid, especially in front of others, then you smile and say thank you.


Even here, if possible, tell them later in private.


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